On Episode 325 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed two athletes who qualified to a CrossFit Games Regional. Alea Helmick placed first in the Open in the Mid Atlantic Region, and Brennan Fjord was second in the South West. This episode was webcast on April 9, 2014.

3:25 Alea Helmick was fifth in the Open in her region last year but took first in the Mid Atlantic in 2014. At Regionals in 2013, she missed qualifying for the Games by one spot, and she described how the shortfall serves as a reminder to her before every workout. That pressure aside, she strives to make her training fun, and she actually likes it when the workouts are really hard because it reminds her of working 15-plus hours a day on a farm while growing up. Like Marcus Hendren, she said that history of hard labor definitely helps her in CrossFit.

16:32 Former college football player Brennan Fjord went from 32nd in the South West Region in the 2013 Open to 23rd in the world in 2014. He started CrossFit after his football career ended and only had a few months to prepare for the 2013 Open, but he said moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, and working at Ute CrossFit with Tommy Hackenbruck has made a big difference. Fjord was tempted to go team in hopes of continuing Ute’s winning tradition at the Games, but he chose instead to fly solo and compete against the likes of Peter Egyed, Chris Spealler and Hackenbruck, who is also a lone wolf this year. Fjord detailed his strengths and weaknesses, described what he does outside of CrossFit, and explained how he’ll train for the South West Regional.

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